Totally not trying to flame or troll, but my only concern with this team is how young they are. I remember the 2008-09 season we had a lot of highly regarded recruits (Fortson, Clarke, etc.) and they started out great beating the likes of #4 OU and #7 Texas jumping out to a 12-1 record and then they completely fell flat on their face once conference play started finishing the season 14-16. I remember analysts attributing the "tale of 2 seasons" to a whole bunch of young'ns basically running out of gas as they weren't prepared for the rigors of a long college basketball season. I really don't remember the league being that strong that year either.

I totally hope I'm wrong, but what makes this team different than that one? I was younger then and don't remember all the details.

Anyways... Great Win Last Night! Now I'll duck and hide

Our coach isnít John pelphrey any longer. This team is so much deeper than that one.

i was at practice one day. after practice talking to pelphrey, clarke & sanchez were still in the arena getting shots up. Pel said you know why these guys are still out here. cause they don't want to be a part of the crap that is going on in the locker room right now.

Fair question from the OP. And some good opinions in the thread. SEC is a much tougher league now, which gives credence to the unknown of what's to come...

I will say, the potential for a better outcome now, lies in talent and coaching, (and team chemistry)

Google that team and look at the roster compared to this one. It was ugly then.

Fortsen had some talent, but his main objective was to get to the rim and muscle up a shot, a little different than what we have with Harris.

Washington was a decent player, but not near the Rim "MONSTER" Gafford is.

No arguing Clarkes ability to shoot the three. But it always seemed to take a LOT of work for him to be able to get one off compared to the fluidity that seems to happen with Joe.

The list goes on if you go down the rosters...

Still, it is a fair question for this year, and time will tell.... I am excited about the potential though....

Courtney Fortson was a good Point Guard but he didn't just drive the basket looking for a shot. He made some beautiful no look passes while driving may times only to see the ball bounce off of the chest of Washington, who was wide open underneath, and out of bounds. That team never could handle his no look passes. Fortson would have really thrived in Mike Anderson's system.

The upside for this team that is better than teams in the past is the defensive side of the ball. Mike's teams will always go cold from the field, but this team can play defense and can minimize those stretches of when they can't score. They also have Dan who as the season goes on will be a run stopper on the offensive side

There were plenty of problems with that team. Selfish players, chemistry issues, constant suspensions, and an offense with 2 plays (Fortson/Washington PnR and running Clarke in circles around the baseline). They played over their heads for those 2 games behind the energy of Bud Walton Arena and unexpected contributions from Marcus.

This team may also have issues once conference play hits, but it's much more likely to be caused by freshmen mistakes/timidness and depth issues.

I was going to point out that pre-treachery Marcus Monk was providing a very nice defensive presence early in the season before he was ruled ineligible

Totally not trying to flame or troll, but my only concern with this team is how young they are. I remember the 2008-09 season we had a lot of highly regarded recruits (Fortson, Clarke, etc.) and they started out great beating the likes of #4 OU and #7 Texas jumping out to a 12-1 record and then they completely fell flat on their face once conference play started finishing the season 14-16. I remember analysts attributing the "tale of 2 seasons" to a whole bunch of young'ns basically running out of gas as they weren't prepared for the rigors of a long college basketball season. I really don't remember the league being that strong that year either.

I totally hope I'm wrong, but what makes this team different than that one? I was younger then and don't remember all the details.

Totally not trying to flame or troll, but my only concern with this team is how young they are. I remember the 2008-09 season we had a lot of highly regarded recruits (Fortson, Clarke, etc.) and they started out great beating the likes of #4 OU and #7 Texas jumping out to a 12-1 record and then they completely fell flat on their face once conference play started finishing the season 14-16. I remember analysts attributing the "tale of 2 seasons" to a whole bunch of young'ns basically running out of gas as they weren't prepared for the rigors of a long college basketball season. I really don't remember the league being that strong that year either.

I totally hope I'm wrong, but what makes this team different than that one? I was younger then and don't remember all the details.